


A Break in the Case

by citrusella



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Broken Bones, Episode: s06e14 Growing Pains, Hospitals, Steven Universe Future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:27:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23160013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/citrusella/pseuds/citrusella
Summary: Dr. Maheswaran takes a look at Steven's results but quickly finds herself in over her head.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 204
Collections: lofi fanfics to practice social distancing to





	A Break in the Case

**Author's Note:**

> So... those episodes, huh?

"Hey, the x-rays and bloodwork for your 4 o'clock came back. Transport service volunteer dropped 'em in my office by mistake."

Already deep in thought about something even without the paperwork, she jumps at his voice. "Hm? Thanks, Stromberg." She takes the package absently, laying the blood results on the table and sticking the disc containing the x-rays into the computer to copy over to the viewer program with a sigh.

As she tries to fit four images on the three monitors at her disposal, her demeanor changes from frustration to fear.

A large crack, big enough he should have had a significant brain injury ~~or worse~~ , mars a significant portion of his skull. But she only gets a moment to focus on that before her eyes flit sideways and she realizes there are similar findings on his torso, legs, _all_ his x-rays.

One, two, three, four. A shoulder blade. Both femurs. His arms. Half his wrist bones. A couple fingers. At least four vertebrae. His pelvis. Big fractures, small ones. One crack here, two cracks there, a veritable spider web through the next one.

When she hits the 50th break, she stops counting. Or more accurately, since she's _required_ to log each and every one, she keeps counting but stops thinking—of the implications, of the possible injuries, of just who this growing, growing list of injuries belongs to.

Fourteen fractures later, a knock permeates the room. "Yo, Priy!" Dr. West slides into the room. "You've holed yourself in here so long robots are the domi— _whoa_."

He eyes the skeleton-filled screen, red annotations marking what she's done logging but with still at least a few more left to go. He leans over the desk for a closer look, glancing at the filename containing Steven's name and age in the program's title bar, the only place listing _any_ of his information, since the imaging onscreen is not connected to his not-yet-digitized chart.

"…What happened to this kid?" he mutters, not really looking for an answer so much as just throwing the question out there. They both know that, even healed, this many breaks—especially with no form of digital chart from anywhere in Delmarva (or most places elsewhere, for that matter)—would typically be cause for concern, for some sort of mandatory report to be made. Priyanka hopes Dr. West realizes it's her responsibility and doesn't take matters into his own hands—she knows from what little context she has that this situation is probably more complex than being accident-prone, in a contact sport… abused. She tries to phrase her next sentence carefully.

"I wish I had the full story, myself. He's still here; I'm supposed to be getting back in there to talk to him about it, if I can ever finish _the procedural part_ of my job." She frowns, jots something down on a third page of the paper chart she has in front of her, and puts a red mark on another break. She leans against the chair with a sigh, craning her neck back to glare at the ceiling. Dr. West grabs a chair of his own and proceeds to sit backward in it, his legs straddling the spine as he rests his forearms on the back cushion.

Silence descends onto the room for several tense seconds like defibrillator paddles onto the torso of someone in V-fib.

"Hey, Priyanka?" A bespectacled woman pokes her head through the doorway.

_Clear!_

"What's going on, Becky?" Her brow furrows; during her shifts, Dr. Brooks rarely drops by spontaneously, without some sort of specific mission or goal.

"Your patient in C127?" Dr. Maheswaran nods. "I passed by there and noticed he was kinda freaked out, said he was wondering where you went. Told him he could trust me to get to the bottom of it."

"Oh, shoot, how long has it been?"

"He said he was pretty sure it'd been 30 minutes, maybe an hour? Seemed kind of stressed since he was quick to add that it felt like two." the psychologist answers, but Dr. Maheswaran is already focused on the computer clock.

"Ah! I've been here 45 minutes!" She groans and puts her head in her hands. "I wasn't planning on admitting him; I can't keep him here all night! That long and he probably thinks I forgot we were still having an appointment." Which… on some level, she had, but not _seriously_. Thank goodness the cancellation he filled was her last appointment slot of the day…

Dr. West places a hand on her shoulder as Dr. Brooks vacates the doorway, responding to a call. "Calm down. Take a deep breath. Just take what you know in there and I'll finish up the boring logging part. Even if I'd rather be skateboarding down the hallway."

Priyanka scoffs. "When have you ever skateboarded down any hallway in this hospital, North?"

"Never. But it's just always something I'm thinking about doing."

She gives an exhale, standing up and ejecting the disc, leaving the local copy for Dr. West to work on. "Okay. I'll check in after the appointment's done, then? Take back over if need be." She grabs the bloodwork as well, trying not to focus too much on the fact that, by the first item she can see, it too is suspect.

"Need won't be, but go right ahead." He's already skimming the chart to acquaint himself with what she's done so far, looking for the next fracture on the computer screen.

She rolls her eyes. "You know where I'll be."

As she walks out, she rubs her hand against the CD case's matte finish.

She can only hope Steven won't take her hypothesis too badly.

**Author's Note:**

> Dr. Brooks, like in all the other fics I ~~blatantly steal her~~ typically use her with permission, is from [CoreyWW](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoreyWW/pseuds/CoreyWW)'s [Connie Maheswaran Fanclub](https://archiveofourown.org/series/590323) series.


End file.
